In Which the Pirate is a Sucker for Sock Yarn.

There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative.

I’m a sucker for sock yarn.

There, I said it. You heard me. I can’t resist the stuff. It’s the first and last thing I look at in a yarn store, and of all the yarns there, sock yarn is the most likely to come home with me. Why? Why NOT! It’s not too expensive, and unlike yarn for a larger project like a sweater or a blanket or a bag, I don’t need to have a pattern in mind when I buy it. I just need to get 100g and I know that I’ll have enough to make a pair of socks. (Unless they’re for Pirate-Husband; then I need 150g. He has wide feet.) Sock yarn is the best souvenir from visiting yarn stores in faraway places, too.

My latest favourite sock yarn has been Cascade Heritage. This is one of their “Paints” colourways, but it is available in solids as well. The feel of this yarn was a pleasant surprise. It’s soft and smooth, I had no trouble with it being splitty, and it knit up into a wonderfully squooshy sock with only minimal pooling. The only socks I’ve knit from this yarn as yet were given away as a gift, so I’m not sure how well it washes and wears yet. Reviews that I’ve read say “very well” and that it can even go through the dryer without anything terrible happening to it – no felting, no pilling, no nothing but getting softer.

I have another skein for myself, in this reds and blues colourway, but I’m not yet sure what pattern I’m going to use when I knit it up. Something simple? Something a little more complex? Not only that, but I’ve got my eye on yet another skein in medium blues to knit a pair of socks for Mom, who surprised me with a request for handknit socks. Those will probably be top down and 3×1 ribbing, for the best fit possible. Maybe I’ll knit the pair for myself that way, as well.

I have enough sock yarn in my stash for 20 pairs.. and at approximately three months for me to knit a pair (I’m slow!), that’s about five years’ worth of sock knitting. Is that going to stop me from buying or spinning more? No way! Like I said… I’m a sucker for sock yarn.